Kevin Garnett on being tired: ‘I’d die out there if I had to and that’s real talk’

The Boston Celtics are old and ailing, yet they keep finding ways to win. The Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen are currently playing out the final years of their career. For one or more of them, it may even be the final year. With Boston and Philadelphia playing every other day for the Eastern Conference semis, some have wondered if age will be a factor and the Celtics will wear down. K.G. doesn’t sound all that concerned.

“I’d die out here if I had to and that’s real talk,” Garnett said during an interview with WEEI in Boston according to Sports Radio Interviews. “I’ve been doing this for a long time and ways where I know how to conserve energy and get ‘em at free throw lines and when guys are shooting free throws, those are valuable seconds for me.

“When I train in the summer I train for a lack of, and when I say that, I mean rest. I program my body to recover as quickly as it can. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m a cerebral player these days and I know how to buy myself time on pick and rolls and stuff like that, things that you don’t see when you’re in your seat and it helps me.”

K.G. played 38 minutes in a Game 1 comeback win over the Sixers, including all 12 in the fourth quarter. Doc Rivers knows that he will have to limit his older players’ minutes to preserve them for the long haul, but sometimes the situation doesn’t allow for it — especially in the postseason.

As for whether or not Garnett would actually die on the court, we have no reason to doubt him. He may be considered one of the dirtiest players in the league, but I don’t think there are many people who have questioned his passion for the game.